


i've got all these demons (but they're hiding underneath)

by ginger__snapped



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Angst, Basically, But its Ok!, Hurt, and ive been meaning to write it for a while, its the may has an abusive boyfriends trope, kinda an oof, mentions of child abuse, stay safe babes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:27:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22904698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginger__snapped/pseuds/ginger__snapped
Summary: It's just a few punches. Peter can take it, right? And May's happy, so what's there to worry about?
Relationships: Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 11
Kudos: 311





	i've got all these demons (but they're hiding underneath)

**Author's Note:**

> title inspiration from demons by alec benjamin

Peter had genuinely liked Tyler. He’d been so nice at first, and May was so happy with him. He’d bring her flowers and take her out to dinner, and May would gush about how sweet he was. But Peter didn’t really spend time with him - he had school and Spider-Man and time at Stark Tower. 

But it was winter break, so Peter was going to “have some boy time” with Tyler, as May had put it. To which Peter had groaned, because he had planned to spend all his time being Spider-Man, because finals had just ended, so he’d been on a break to focus on school. 

Peter was sprawled out on his bed, fiddling with a piece of tech, when there was a knock on his door. He shoved it under his pillow and sat up, nudging a shirt under his bed with his foot. 

“Come in,” he said, smiling awkwardly at Tyler when he opened the door and came in. 

“So May’s out of town for the week, so I thought maybe we could go do something? Maybe go to the movies, watch the game, get lunch.” He shrugged, leaning against Peter’s wall. 

“Yeah,” Peter said absentmindedly, eyes traveling to his phone, which had lit up with a notification. 

“And maybe no phone,” Tyler joked.

Peter sent him a tight lipped smile, wanting him to leave so he could answer the text. 

“Right.” Tyler cleared his throat, moving back out of the room. “When you’re done with the phone maybe join me out in the living room.”

Peter rolled his eyes when the door was shut again, snagging his phone from the bedside table and tapping the text message.

_ Happy break, kiddo. Swing by tomorrow? _

Peter glanced at the door, Tyler running through his mind. 

He groaned, falling back on his bed. 

_ sorry _ , he typed.  _ may’s boyfriend wants to spend “boy time” with me. wish me luck. i think im gonna have to suffer through some football _

Peter sighed, shut off his phone, and joined Tyler for an awkward two hours of watching sports.

“Right,” Peter said, standing up. “I was gonna go out and get lunch with someone-”

“Who?” Tyler asked, more force than needed in his voice. 

“MJ,” Peter said slowly. “My girlfriend.”

“Oh, no.” Tyler stood up, moving towards Peter. “Does May let you go out with your girlfriend alone?”

“I-”

“You’re staying here, young man. I don’t need you knocking up some girl before you graduate.”

Peter’s cheeks flushed red, and he darted around to his room, shutting and locking the door. He glanced to the window, bit his lip, and in a split second decision, grabbed his phone, and climbed out the window. 

***

Now, despite Tony’s grumbling, Peter didn’t exactly make disobeying adults a hobby of his. But he did have standards of who he would listen to, and, as much as he loved May, Tyler just...wasn’t one of those people. He didn’t know anything about Peter. He didn’t know about the Stark Internship, didn’t know about Spider-Man, didn’t know about the weekends spent at Stark Tower. 

And, since May wasn’t there to make up some excuse about where he was, Peter couldn’t stick to his normal routine. 

But he’d had a good time with MJ, and he was in a good mood, unlocking the door to the apartment and slipping inside. He hadn’t expected to see Tyler, surrounded by beer cans, the TV on full blast playing football reruns. 

He tried to sneak around to his bedroom, the whole situation so...unlike what May had told him, but Tyler’s head whipped around, gaze narrowing on Peter. 

“You! Come here!” he barked, one hand lazily gesturing, body slow with intoxication. 

Peter cautiously approached, standing a good five feet away. He could smell the alcohol coming off of Tyler, and it, quite frankly, disgusted him. 

“Fucking stupid boy. Sneaking out to go fuck your girlfriend, huh? Disgusting. Disgusting!” Tyler threw a can into the wall, staggering to his feet and breathing heavily. Peter inched backwards, breath caught in his throat, mind racing. Was this really the same person that May had been gushing about?

Tyler stalked towards him, but Peter held his ground, determined to not let a drunk man intimidate him. He was fucking Spider-Man, after all, wasn’t he? 

What he didn’t expect was for his head to jerk sharply to the side, the sting of a slap burning into his cheek a few seconds later. 

“That’ll teach you not to disobey me,” Tyler slurred, stumbling to the side. “Now clean this shit up, you useless boy. And don’t tell May. Otherwise I might just...snap.” 

***

Peter ignored Tony’s texts. He ignored MJ’s texts too, and Ned’s. He responded to May’s “Hope you’re having fun!” with a smiley face, hoping she wouldn’t think too much of it. He stayed in his room all of Saturday, politely declining Tyler’s offer to watch TV with him, saying he had homework. But when sunset rolled around, Tyler was no longer the mildly polite person he was during the day. He drank, and drank, and drank. And with every can, his voice grew rougher and movements more slow, the hatred in his eyes growing. And his words become harsher, the insults growing until he reached a max, and hit Peter. 

But it didn't really matter, right? It was just a few punches. And Peter had survived a building falling on him. And May was happy, there was more money, and Peter probably deserved it, right? 

It happened again on Sunday. And repeated every night that May was off at work, with Tyler getting drunk after she left, then Peter cleaning everything up before she got home. 

And at first, after that one week, the bruises healed within the hour, the physical signs gone without a trace. But Tyler’s words still rang through Peter’s head at night, and his health began to slowly decline. 

It started with not sleeping, with falling asleep in class and jerking awake, completely missing what was going on. His anxiety increased, higher than it had been in years. MJ and Ned noticed, their concern obvious, but Peter brushed them off, saying he was fine, just a little stressed. 

And though their concern didn’t dwindle, they didn’t press. But there was someone Peter had been ignoring. And for a reason, because Peter worried that Tony would take one look at him and figure everything out, and then May would be at risk, and she’d be unhappy, and the money would be tight-

So he took a few punches. 

But a few punches turned into more punches. And the insults turned into abuse, and Peter felt himself shrinking in on himself, doubt and fear and anxiety taking over in his mind. Spider-Man was rarely out anymore. And when Tony commented on it, texting Peter and asking if he wanted to come over, Peter instantly declined, saying he had too much homework. Which, he did. He started slacking off in school, ignoring the blatant worried looks his teachers and classmates gave him when he didn’t know the answer. 

May didn’t notice, because Peter ensured that she didn’t. He used all the energy he had left to hold up a front, pretending everything was fine. 

“It’s so nice that I know that someone’s here to make sure you’re okay when I’m at work,” May commented, stealing a shrimp from Peter’s plate. 

Peter smiled tightly, nodding. 

“You feeling okay, baby? You usually eat more when we come here.” May lowered her voice, leaning in. “Gotta keep that spider metabolism satisfied.”

“Yeah,” Peter said, forcing a laugh. “Just a little tired.” 

So he forced down the food, ignoring the swirling guilt in his stomach. And when May left, and Tyler drank, and a fist connected with his stomach, Peter ran to the bathroom and threw it all back up. 

***

It had been a month since Peter had seen Tony. 

He missed him. A lot. He missed nights in the lb, full of banter and ideas and laughter. He missed takeout and pizza and movies, curled up on the couch, happy and full. He even missed his nagging while Peter was out on patrol, the little pop-up that would come into his vision. 

Instead, he was dabbing at his lip, where the skin had split, the taste of blood and metal on his tongue, stomach churning purely on guilt. He was exhausted, just mentally and physically exhausted. He hadn’t been eating, hadn’t gone out as Spider-Man, and felt like he was just spiraling further down. 

But he couldn’t say anything. 

Because wasn't Tyler right? Peter was useless, and stupid, and a waste of space. His parents died, and his uncle died, but he could’ve saved him. He had powers, but he was useless. He didn’t do much. He didn’t have some giant impact on the world, didn’t really matter to anyone. He was a pity project for people to take in and get tired of. 

And- someone was knocking on the door to his room. He pulled on a hoodie, tripping over his feet to open the door. No one was home, both Tyler and May called into work. 

He came face to face with a very angry Tony Stark. 

He slammed the door shut, and bolted out the window. Peter heard Tony yelling, but he scrambled down the fire escape, and took off running through the streets of Queens. He ran and ran, feet pounding against the cement, until he couldn’t run anymore. Peter was gasping for his breath, head spinning and chest burning with a pain he hadn’t felt in so long. He looked up, and knew where he was. So he climbed the fire escape, feet stumbling and hands missing a few rungs, until he fell through the window, collapsing onto the soft grey rug. He opened his mouth to say something, but his eyes fluttered closed, the month of exhaustion and starvation finally catching up to him. 

***

Peter woke to hands touching his face, invading his privacy, and he needed them  _ away _ . He twisted, hand slapping out to push the hands away, involuntarily whimpering. 

“No, no, please, I’m sorry,” he whispered, writhing with the pain of a phantom touch. 

“Peter, it’s me. I need you to snap out of it. Come on, baby,  _ please _ .”

Peter recognized that voice. He froze, forcing his eyelids open, blinking dazedly in the light of MJ’s room. MJ slumped, resting back on her heels and sighing. 

“Peter, I need you to tell me what the fuck is going on. Seriously. We’re all worried beyond belief about you.” 

“Can’t,” Peter groaned. “Sorry, was a mistake to come here. Gotta get back.” He tried to sit up, but his ribs screamed in protest, and he fell back to the floor, a pained moan forcing its way past his lips. He closed his eyes, listening to his breath rattle in his chest. 

“Peter, you’re scaring me. What’s going on? Who did this to you?”

He could hear the sound of repulsors in the distance. 

“Tony,” he said, voice a low groan. “He - here - God, it  _ hurts _ .” 

“Tony did this? What? Peter, what the hell is happening?”

Peter opened his mouth to respond, weakly trying to shake his head. But the movement sent his head spinning, and he whined, hand flying up to cover his mouth. As he sat up sharply, MJ lurched, bringing her trash can underneath Peter’s chin just as he opened his mouth, bile and spit trailing out of his mouth. 

“‘M so sorry,” he moaned, head leaning against MJ’s shoulder. “I’ll - I’ll do better, promise.” His mouth wasn’t working the way he wanted it to, words coming out unusually slow and slurred. 

Like Tyler. 

The sound of the repulsors was close, now. Out on the fire escape, there was a metal clunk, and the sound of the suit opening up. And a fuming Tony Stark appeared in the window. 

***

Now, Peter was far too out of it to understand what was going on, other than the fact that he was being taken out of MJ’s arms, and that was the last thing he wanted. He groaned, making grabby hands at MJ, trying, but epicly failing, to get out of Tony’s grasp as he was gently placed inside the Iron Man suit. He could hear Tony and MJ talking, but they sounded so, so far away, and the metal of the suit was...comfortable. And his head was so heavy, and his body ached, desperate for sleep and food. His eyes fluttered shut. Just a few minutes of sleep wouldn’t hurt, right?

***

Peter came to slowly, hazy vision slowly clearing as he blinked in the dim lighting, eyelids heavy with fatigue. His body was sore, every bone and muscle aching with the pain of true exhaustion. He realized he was in the Medbay, which meant one thing: Tony. 

“And he wakes.” 

And - yep. There he was. Peter closed his eyes again. He didn’t want to do this. 

“Uh-uh, kid. Bruce said that once you woke up, we needed you up. No going back to sleep on me now. You’ve done enough of that to last a while.”

“How long was I asleep?” he mumbled, forcing his eyes back open as they started to flutter closed. 

There was a pause, then Tony’s pained voice. “Three days. You went into a self-induced coma. Scared the living daylights out of both me and your girlfriend when Fri said you weren’t breathing.”

“Mm. S’rry.” 

“Yeah. Your girlfriend’s here, too. Currently in your room, hope you cleaned it last time you were here. May forced her to stop pacing and go to sleep after I forced May to stop pacing and go to sleep.”

“”N what ‘bout you?”

“Been here.”

“Mm. Nice of you.” 

There was a long exhale from Tony, and Peter felt him grab his hand, squeezing tightly. 

“Kiddo, what the hell happened?”

Peter slowly shook his head. 

“Can’t talk ‘bout it. Made me promise. Don't’ wanna hurt May.”

“Who?” Tony pressed. “Who made you promise?”

“Her boyfriend,” Peter moaned, shaking his head. “He’s so  _ mean.  _ But I can’t say ‘nything, y’know? ‘Cause she’s happy. ‘N he’s right, ‘nyway.”

“Oh, Peter,” Tony whispered, and suddenly, he was enveloped in a hug, Tony pressing Peter’s head into the crook of his neck, arms wrapped around him. “I’m so sorry.”

“Mph. Ribs hurt.”

Tony released Peter, settling back into his chair, hand still tightly clasped with Peter’s. 

“Peter, Peter, Peter. Why in the hell didn’t you say anything?”

Peter shifted uncomfortably, staring fixedly at the ceiling. 

“Dunno. He...May was happy, ‘n I didn’t wanna ruin that. ‘M a big stress on her life, ‘n anything I can do to help, y’know?” Peter sighed, heavy eyelids threatening to close again. 

“‘M gonna go to sleep.”

“Hey, now, kiddo, Bruce needs to check on you first.”

Peter hummed, his eyes already closing. 

***

A week later, Peter was relatively fine. He’d been on bed rest for the entire week, not because  _ he  _ needed it, but so that everyone he knew could have some peace of mind knowing he wasn’t getting into trouble. 

But it was the weekend again, and he was seated in the lab, blanket wrapped around his shoulders as he watched Tony work on his car. 

“You know I love you, right?”

Peter’s head jerked up in surprise, looking up at Tony. 

“What?”

“You’re a cool person, Peter Parker. Just you. Not Spider-Man, you. And you know that I’d do anything for you, and I love and support you no matter what? And you can come to me for anything, alright?”

“I-- I love you too, Tony.” 

**Author's Note:**

> hey hey hey thanks for reading yall  
> come and yell at me on [tumblr](https://ginger--snapped.tumblr.com/)  
> hope yall have a lovely night/morning/afternoon, or we can just choose to ignore the social construct of time :)


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